If you are an expat or any foreign national living in Cambodia for a extended period of time, having a expat health insurance plan that understands needs of expats and provides sufficient protection against all eventualities is a must have!
Health Insurance for Expats in Cambodia
If you are an expat or any foreign national living in Cambodia for a extended period of time, having a expat health insurance plan that understands needs of expats and provides sufficient protection against all eventualities is a must have!
It doesn’t matter if you are living in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville or Poi Pet, accidents and emergencies happen everywhere and you need peace of mind that if a accident or illness occurs regardless of severity or life threatening that you get the best possible care available, which sometimes means being evacuated to a nearby city such as Bangkok with world-class medical facilities.
A medical evacuations are expensive and practically impossible in emergency situations without proof of health insurance coverage, and these are the kind of situations when you need health insurance.
You might be thinking that healthcare for small minor injuries or broken bones is relatively cheap in Cambodia and around the region, and we agree by all means if you have the wealth to cover minor “out-patient” medical costs then do so.
However with “in-patient” care and medical evacuations the costs can easily spiral out of control to levels beyond your bank balance, and the last thing you want to be dealing with in such emergency is arranging bank transfers to ensure the hospital will continue to keep you or your loved one alive.
We have all seen the “go fund me” pages of tourists who have been involved in accidents while on holiday either without any insurance or with travel insurance that refuses to pay, in most cases the tourist was riding a motorbike without a helmet which invalids the policy. The difference with travel insurance and a health insurance policy is that in life and death situations you will receive the care you need, regardless of how the accident occurred, the insurer might ask questions later, but at-least you will be alive to tell the tale.
British nationals who have the luxury of the national health service and have never purchased health insurance might find the cost of health insurance surprisingly high, whereas Americans tend to find the cost of international health insurance plans surprisingly cheaper than American health insurance.
If you are currently a expat in Cambodia but plan on living in other countries in the future, you should buy a “International” or “regional” health insurance policy in a country you would be comfortable to continue to pay the ongoing insurance policy, or a policy that can be transferred, you essentially want a lifetime policy that covers you regardless of where you are living.
Otherwise you would have to cancel your initial policy and obtain a new policy which could be problematic, especially if any new medical conditions have occurred.
Hospitals in Cambodia that have direct billing arrangements with insurance.
Before coming to Cambodia one has to make the choice of what kind of services they would like to have for themselves. There are local hospitals which are affordable too and one can easily maintain a balance and can take the pains of giving bills to these hospitals but if you are looking for an extra treatment then they may fell short to your expectations and you have to move to other options like international medical establishments.
On the other end, you can go for the premium expat health insurance coverage for you and your family. They pay the rate charged at expat hospitals for Western-style medical coverage, and can provide maternity, dental and outpatient services for you and your family.
Dental insurance is also available easily. Having expat medical insurance is always a good option on order to make yourself safe in extreme conditions and in the cases of costly treatments, as the disease will get insured by the company and you can be relaxed at least from its payment side.
Cambodia is a beautiful place but if you travel to Cambodia you get to experience different time zones that may lead to jet lag. It is a condition where your body stops responding to the changing climate. The person may get the illusion of day into night and vice versa. Every human body adjustment period is different, and time will inevitably cure it. But body may suffer with some small and big disturbances like irregular sleep, fatigue, headache etc..
Water is not that drinkable in Cambodia you have to boil it before you are attempting to drink as the government sources has verified some kind of harmful bacteria in the drinking water. However the infrastructure projects are being undergoing in order to purify the water and to make it drinkable. Then also it is recommended to have boiled water in place of the regular water.
Generally health care in Cambodia is not a matter of concern and still it is improving very rapidly. Each expatriate community has their own set of local facilities available in the time of emergency. And the range can vary according to the size of the community.
Most of the medicines can be bought over the counter without any prescriptions. That may lead to a disaster sometimes. One has to be careful while purchasing any kind of medicine.
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